{"id":2297,"date":"2018-09-21T17:04:44","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T09:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shimclinic.com\/blog\/?p=2297"},"modified":"2018-09-26T14:20:22","modified_gmt":"2018-09-26T06:20:22","slug":"hiv-testing-pep-72-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shimclinic.com\/blog\/hiv-testing-pep-72-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve been exposed to HIV, here\u2019s what you should do"},"content":{"rendered":"

What should you do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You\u2019re a bit confused because you think you\u2019ve been exposed to HIV<\/a>. It could be during a sexual intercourse, or because you walked on a needle. It could be at work or during a sexual assault.<\/p>\n

While there are many different ways of being exposed to HIV, there is only one single way of handling it: through HIV testing<\/a> and by taking antiretroviral<\/a> medicine (also called PEP when taken after exposure to HIV).<\/p>\n

Even the slightest doubt of getting exposed to HIV is enough to justify getting PEP medicine and making sure you\u2019re not infected. You should get your PEP treatment within 72 hours, otherwise you will not get its benefits. And as time passes, your chances of PEP working diminishes.<\/p>\n

\"Get<\/a>

Take PEP within 72 hours<\/p><\/div>\n

Once you start taking PEP, you\u2019ll have to take it only once or twice per day for a whole month. That\u2019s a cheap price to pay to avoid getting infected by HIV in case you\u2019ve been exposed!<\/p>\n

But remember that you should be ready for the best and the worst. PEP does not have a 100% success rate. PEP can fail.<\/p>\n

If you already know that you should take PEP, then here\u2019s a list of tips to take PEP and get the most out of it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Should you take PEP? <\/strong><\/h2>\n

That\u2019s a question you should ask yourself whenever you get exposed to HIV. Even if you think it\u2019s a bit unnecessary, you cannot guess whether or not you\u2019ve really been exposed and potentially infected by HIV.<\/p>\n

Therefore, to answer this question, you should take PEP if:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You\u2019re HIV-negative or don\u2019t know your HIV status<\/li>\n
  2. You\u2019ve been exposed:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n